From: Mike Curtis Date: Sun, 18 Jan 1998 16:56:06 -0800 (PST) Subject: Honky Tonk/Re: Playing what the audience wants
On Sun, 18 Jan 1998, Bluesonics wrote:
>This is one complaint that I have as an audience member. I don't wanna hear >another version of Honky Tonk. Certain songs have been done to death (I don't >care what the arrangement). Another version of Brown Eyed Girl and I'll puke.
You'd probably like mine, even if you are tired of the song itself. I factor into the show the fact that, regardless of what I play, someone in the audience will not like that song and/or my version of it. I try to make each song entertaining in some way other than just the music, even if it's simply that I play a wide variety of material and they don't know what I'll play next. I use introductions, comments midsong, concluding comments, unusual breaks, sometimes make up a silly verse - or more (e.g. Rogaine, my parody of Cocaine), and other amusing things. And for SOME tunes, I stroll, walk the bar, play to individuals, and often get them involved. Kids LOVE to play the whammy bar, and USUALLY do it poorly enough that it's funny. Every once in a while, though, you find the musical whiz who figures out how to make the music sound GOOD, and the crowd LOVES it - not to mention the parents!
I use some of these when playing Honky Tonk.
I start on guitar, with no drum machine or bass, then on the 2nd or 3rd verse add harmonica. While doing this, I head out to the audience, playing to the ladies, couples, kids, and anyone else I think will prove entertaining. I use the original as a formal outline rather than an absolute, although I use many of the Honky Tonk licks, including the turnharound used to begin HT part 2. BTW this is a great lick to establish your "turf" at a jam sessions with the other horn players :-)
Eventually, I return to the stage, start the drum machine, and add in bass pedals for a really big finale'.
I conclude it by announcing "Honky Tonk, part three. If you've ever seen the original '45', part one was on the A side, and part two was on the B side. But you didn't know that Honky Tonk part three was on the "side" side. So if you've got one of them record players that plays it on its' side, you can listen to part three at home. Otherwise, you gotta come hear ME do it next ".
Then I play something completely different.
Even if you didn't like the song, you'll like the show.
And that's how you can get away with playing (the inevitable) songs many people in your audience may not particularly care for, but still keeping the audience on the edge of their chairs all night long (another good sax tune :-)
-- IronMan Mike Curtis My CD "Doin' It All Myself" available in Tower, Blockbuster, Camelot, PX
